Traditionally bridging Eastern and Western Europe and constantly rebuilding itself after invasions, wartime destruction, and Communist rule, Poland has many surprising delights to offer visitors seeking to explore a country where old meets new. With a stable economy and quickly growing tourism industry, Poland may not remain one of Europe’s best kept secrets for too much longer.

Bearing the name of Poland’s most renowned composer and situated in its capital city of Warsaw, Frederic Chopin International Airport receives over 100 daily international flights. The airport also happens to be an important hub for cheap Poland car hire. Exploring Poland by hire car is the best way visitors can tour this unforgettable country at their own leisure.

Warsaw, almost completely destroyed during WWII, is a city of contrasts separated in two by the Vistula River. Most of Warsaw is now totally reconstructed, but leftovers of its prior glory remain in its well preserved Old Town district and along the Royal Way, where drivers pass Warsaw’s Royal Castle and the Lazienki Palace while exploring Poland by cheap hire car.

Other destinations easily accessible by Poland rental car include the Jasna Gora Monastery in the city of Czestochowa, Europe’s oldest salt mine in Wieliczka, and all of the Masuria region’s 3,000 lakes. The imposing Tatra Mountains offer plenty of skiing in winter and tons of spectacular lakeside hiking trails to enjoy in milder weather. The Bialowieza Forest bordering Belarus is one of Europe’s only surviving wilderness areas while the Auschwitz concentration camp provides a painful reminder from Poland’s tumultuous past.